Last year Techrules captured its fair share of
attention with the debut of the Ren supercar. Now it’s returning to the Geneva
Motor Show with the track-focused Ren RS, revealed here for the first time.
The Techrules Ren RS is based on the same
architecture as the existing Ren, with its bodywork designed by Fabrizio and
Giorgetto Giugiaro. Only now it’s been redesigned for the track, featuring a
single-seat cockpit design.
Power comes from an advanced micro-turbine hybrid
setup similar to what Jaguar tried with the C-X75 concept, however Techrules
thinks it can actually make a go of it.
The experimental powertrain mates a pair of electric
motors at the front and another four at the rear, with a small diesel turbine
engine serving as a range-extender. With a 28.4-kWh lithium-ion polymer battery
pack, the Chinese startup says the Ren RS will produce as much as 1,305 PS and 2,340 Nm of
torque.
That’s said to be enough to send the hybrid racer to 100 km/h in just three seconds, en route to a top speed of 330 km/h. A tank filled with 80 liters of diesel fuel will give
it a range of 1,170 kilometers. A (relatively) lower-end version
will also be offered with four electric motors instead of six, delivering 858
hp and 1,560 Nm of torque.
Those are some impressive figures, and Techrules
says it’s in the process of forging industry alliances to extend its powertrain
tech to other applications. Among them is a Memorandum of Understanding with
CRRC to develop a similarly powered autonomous rapid transit train system. For
now, though, we’ll look forward to seeing the new Ren RS on the floor of the
Geneva Palexpo this week.
